musings

we i.e. friends M & J & I were in Cologne for 2 days, on a fun-shopping-museum-wining-dining Spree! in the first photo the Dom tower, impressive against the clear blue skies, the temperature was somewhere between -3 and -7 celsius....so it was cold, yet dry and therefore bearable. We enjoyed ourselves immensely; these kinds of short breaks feel longer and as per usual I realise I should do this more often.....Back home a day later we have Snow! and Frost! and Grey Skies! our world is limited to the view across the road: black&white fields, fog makes the world seem very small and muted. Time to head to the studio, where I played around with these two wooden tree stamps, bought in Cologne; and continued with the art of small cushions

the blue fabric in the top right corner and the Naples yellow/mauve corner on the left below come from a delicate fabric Jude sent me, along with Harry the lion and these colourful bundles:

Jude's Bundles, minus the When Worlds Collide fabric, of which 2 small snippets were used in the cushion

this small cushion is made with two layers of thin fabric on both sides; the colourful side is made up of four squares sewn together as Jude has taught me, so the seams fold flat by themselves, the patchwork has been basted onto a white cotton square; the grey/white side consists of two oblongs scraps sewn together in the same way, basted onto two similarly sewn cotton strips, laid in the opposite direction, creating a fake 4 part square patchwork; the tree has been stamped onto an older plain white patchscrap.

I'm very aware of how dominant the need within of being the owner of all that I make is, the ego thing is big; and yet here I have used a fabric dyed by another person I know (albeit virtual) and a stamp block created by someone completely unknown to me and what I tentatively seek (here) is a collaboration of sorts, a letting go of this ownership. Of connecting with others.....My friend A. who happened to drop by today and with whom I can discuss these kinds of things, referred to it as 'inter-being'

I took lots of photo's of the art in the Ludwig museum, I won't bore you with all of these images; I do want to share this particular lady whom I find highly amusing as she looks away from us Cheshire Cat-like to her left, is there perhaps something that amuses her I wonder; a glance that makes me smile in recognition even though we are forever seperated by all the years between us; alas I don't have her name, the photographer was Karl Schenker

Comments

Yes, that tower accomplishes all that Gothic cathedrals were meant to do...overwhelm the viewer with the power of God and draw the eye always UP. I'm glad you had a chance to get away. I love the tree stamps and your delicate cushion...especially the quieter side. Using materials provided by others in no way diminishes your identity, which shines through everything you make.

WoW!! That first photo takes your breath away! I have begun to enjoy the cloudy/foggy days more and more...I like the way they hold you so gently. As far as Whose Art? Well as it has been said by Dana, everything you touch, speaks of you...and collaborations bring out different things than if you had total control. Kinda like life, eh?Glad you got a little get away my friend.

greetings to you all and wishing you the very best for the coming year: warm love, enduring friendship, good health, relaxing fun....the ability to always see the sun behind the clouds......who knows what the year has in store for us, in these trying times, but remember we always have eachother in the ever-expanding circle

p.s. short trips away are perhaps more invigorating than longer ones.....that's what I tell myself anyway; so my new year's resolution: more short trips in 2017!!

Hi, I'm an artist who happens to enjoy tidying-up.
" Art might simply be the awareness of how we might create self. That we do. What happens, and then, what we do about it. The story. And the expression of that." Jude Hill - Spirit Cloth [with kind permission]